Wiring design system and wiring design method

Abstract

To automate the introduction of a relay terminal block in wiring designing.SOLUTION: A design information DB 40 stores design information showing a plurality of electrical connection contents designed in advance between a plurality of devices. A design information processing part 33 designs a connection mode between a plurality of terminals belonging to the plurality of devices by using the design information. The design information includes connection information including information for identifying terminals to be a plurality of connection destinations being mutual connection objects in each electric connection, terminal information of each of the plurality of terminals, and terminal block information relating to a plurality of relay terminal blocks with a plurality of relay terminals mounted thereon. The design information processing part 33 includes a connection state analysis part 334, and a relay terminal block setting part 335. The connection state analysis part 334 analyzes whether application of a relay terminal block is needed in each electric connection on the basis of the connection information and the terminal information. The relay terminal block setting part 335 sets a relay terminal block to be introduced on the basis of an analysis result by the connection state analysis part 334 and a terminal block.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wiring design system and a wiring design method. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing environment of panel systems such as control panels, wiring work is required to ensure electrical connections between on-board devices. Typically, wiring between terminals using electric wires (cables) is required to connect power wiring and to send and receive signals between devices.

[0003] Generally, such cable wiring is done according to an electrical circuit diagram that is separate from the drawing (assembly drawing) showing the panel structure and the installation position of the equipment. In recent years, due to factors such as the miniaturization of mounted equipment and a shortage of skilled workers, there is an increasing need to create such electrical circuit diagrams so that workers can easily understand the contents of the wiring work.

[0004] As part of such technology, International Publication No. 2017 / 149652 (Patent Document 1) describes a program for wiring a wire harness that is provided to perform wiring work of a wire harness in a short period of time without requiring skill.

[0005] According to the wiring work program of Patent Document 1, in a virtual route space showing all the wiring routes of the wire harness, wiring process selection buttons are displayed corresponding to the order of the wiring processes, so that the worker is visually informed of the correspondence of the current process to the entire process. Furthermore, in response to the operation of the wiring process selection button, the wiring position of the corresponding wire harness is displayed superimposed on the virtual route space. In this way, by visually informing the worker of information related to the wiring work of the wire harness, it is possible to shorten the wiring work of the wire harness without requiring skill. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017 / 149652 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] On the other hand, in the above-mentioned wiring work, there are cases where the overall electrical connection required between all the on-board devices cannot be ensured by direct cable connection due to restrictions such as the number of wires that can be connected to each terminal of the on-board devices and the wire diameter. In such cases, it is necessary to ensure the overall electrical connection by using a relay terminal block having multiple relay terminals that are electrically interconnected. Furthermore, there are multiple types of such relay terminal blocks that differ in the number of relay terminals and the diameter of the wires that can be connected.

[0008] Therefore, in panel systems that require a large amount of wiring, when introducing relay terminal blocks into electrical circuit diagrams that show the above-mentioned wiring design contents, there is a concern that the design load will increase significantly if the need to introduce relay terminal blocks and their selection must be manually determined.

[0009] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a wiring design system and a wiring design method for automating the installation design of relay terminal blocks. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a wiring design system between a plurality of devices stored in a housing includes an information storage unit and a design information processing unit. The information storage unit stores design information indicating the contents of a plurality of electrical connections designed in advance between the plurality of devices. The design information processing unit uses the design information to design a connection mode between a plurality of terminals of the plurality of devices. The design information includes connection information including information specifying a plurality of connection destination terminals to be interconnected for each electrical connection, terminal information for each of the plurality of terminals, and terminal block information related to a plurality of relay terminal blocks equipped with a plurality of relay terminals. The design information processing unit includes a connection state analysis unit and a relay terminal block setting unit. The connection state analysis unit analyzes whether or not the application of a relay terminal block is necessary for each electrical connection based on the connection information and the terminal information. The relay terminal block setting unit sets the relay terminal block to be introduced into the plurality of electrical connections based on the analysis result by the connection state analysis unit and the terminal block information.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for designing wiring between a plurality of devices stored in a housing includes the steps of: extracting design information indicating the contents of a plurality of electrical connections designed in advance between the plurality of devices from a database; and using the design information to design a connection mode between a plurality of terminals of the plurality of devices. The design information includes connection information including information specifying a plurality of connection destination terminals to be interconnected for each electrical connection, terminal information for each of the plurality of terminals, and terminal block information related to a plurality of relay terminal blocks equipped with a plurality of relay terminals. The designing step includes the steps of analyzing whether or not the application of a relay terminal block is necessary for each electrical connection based on the connection information and the terminal information, and setting the relay terminal block to be introduced into the plurality of electrical connections based on the analysis result in the analyzing step and the terminal block information. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present disclosure, for each of a plurality of pre-designed electrical connections between a plurality of devices, the design of the introduction of relay terminal blocks can be automated in the wiring design for realizing the above electrical connections, by using analysis results based on connection information and terminal information and terminal block information for connections between a plurality of terminals that are to be interconnected for each electrical connection. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wiring design system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the structure of a control panel to which the wiring design system is applied; [Diagram 3] 2 is a table illustrating an example of a data structure of design information read out from the design information DB of FIG. 1; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a connection between devices. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control process by the wiring design system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 6 is a flowchart illustrating the connection state analysis process shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 6 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of the signal constraint analysis process shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] 6 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of an automatic setting process for the relay terminal block shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 9] 9 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a process for determining whether or not a relay terminal block is necessary, which is shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wiring design system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is a table for explaining an example of a data structure of design information read out from the design information DB of FIG. 10 . [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control process by the wiring design system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13]13 is a flowchart illustrating a process added in the automatic setting process for the relay terminal block shown in FIG. 12 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of selection of a wiring route. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference characters, and their description will not be repeated in principle.

[0015] Embodiment 1 1, the wiring design system 1a according to the first embodiment includes an input device 10, an output device 20, a processing device 30, and a design information database (DB) 40. The wiring design system 1a can be used to design board systems such as control boards and power boards. As will be described later, the wiring design system 1a can automatically introduce relay terminal blocks.

[0016] The input device 10 is provided for a development worker to input operations for storing information in the memory unit 32 of the processing device 30 and operations for commanding the execution of processing of each function described below. For example, the input device 10 can be configured with a keyboard (KB), a mouse, a microphone, etc. It is also possible to configure the input device 10 so that at least a part of the information stored in the memory unit 32 is input from an auxiliary storage device such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory or a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), or from another device via a receiving interface such as a parallel bus or serial bus, or a network.

[0017] The output device 20 is provided so that a development worker can check the information input from the input device 10 and the information stored in the memory unit 32 of the processing device 30. For example, the output device 20 is configured to include a liquid crystal display, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like. Alternatively, the output device 20 may include a printer or plotter that prints information in the form of characters, images, or the like.

[0018] The processing device 30 typically includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), and further includes a storage unit 32.

[0019] The storage unit 32 has a function of temporarily storing information input to the input device 10, information output from the output device 20, and information required by the design information processing unit 33. Furthermore, the storage unit 32 stores various information required for the wiring design system 1a to operate. For example, the storage unit 32 can be configured by a hard disk device, a replaceable magnetic storage device, or a semiconductor storage device.

[0020] The processing device 30 has an arithmetic processing unit 31 and a design information processing unit 33, which are realized by the execution of a program by the CPU. The arithmetic processing unit 31 has a general function of software processing, such as receiving information from the storage unit 32 according to a command input to the input device 10, and passing the information to the design information processing unit 33 and the output device 20.

[0021] Before describing the design information processing unit 33 that realizes the main functions of the present disclosure, the configuration of a control panel to which the automatic wiring design according to the present disclosure is applied will be described with reference to FIG. 2 which shows an example of the structure of a general control panel, etc.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the control panel 100 includes a housing 110, a plurality of devices 120 stored in the internal space of the housing 110, electric wires (cables) 130 for connecting between the devices 120, and a structure 140 such as a partition plate and a relay terminal block 150 arranged inside the housing 110.

[0023] The devices 120 include power supplies, relays, switches, meters, inverters, etc. Each device 120 may be a single device, or a plurality of devices may be integrated into one unit. Each device 120 is attached to the housing 110 or the structure 140, and has a terminal (not shown) for ensuring electrical connection between the devices 120 and the other devices 120 via the electric wires 130.

[0024] Incidentally, all of the electrical connections required between the multiple devices 120 in the control panel 100 are defined in advance by an electrical circuit diagram or the like. Also, the internal structure of the control panel 100, i.e., the positional information of the housing 110, the structure 140, and the multiple devices 120, as well as the positional information of each terminal of the multiple devices 120, are defined in advance by general three-dimensional CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. That is, the wiring design system according to this embodiment is premised on the ability to acquire design information for wiring, such as information related to these electrical connections and positional information.

[0025] The terminals of the device 120 may be directly connected by the electric wire 130 or may be electrically connected via the relay terminal block 150 .

[0026] 2, the relay terminal block 150 has a plurality of relay terminals 152 (152a to 152d in FIG. 2) and at least one current-carrying conductor 154 (154a, 154b in FIG. 2). The current-carrying conductor 154 can be formed of, for example, an electric wire or a metal plate.

[0027] 2, the relay terminals 152a to 152c are interconnected by the current-carrying conductor 154a, and the relay terminals 152d and 152e are interconnected by the current-carrying conductor 154b. This allows electrical interconnection between the terminal Tx connected to the relay terminal 152a, the terminal Ty connected to the relay terminal 152b, and the terminal Tz connected to the relay terminal 152c via the relay terminal block 150.

[0028] Similarly, the terminal Tw connected to the relay terminal 152d and the terminal Tv connected to the relay terminal 152e can be electrically connected via the relay terminal block 150, independently of the terminals Tx to Tz.

[0029] Next, the design information processing unit 33 will be further described with reference to FIG.

[0030] The design information processing unit 33 includes a device information storage unit 331 , a relay terminal block information storage unit 332 , a connection information storage unit 333 , a connection state analysis unit 334 , and a relay terminal block setting unit 335 .

[0031] As described above, the typical components of a control panel are the housing 110 and structure 140 as fixing members, the equipment 120 stored in the internal space of the housing, the electric wires 130 connecting the equipment together, and the relay terminal block 150. However, in this embodiment, information relating to other design elements not directly mentioned can also be used as necessary.

[0032] The device information storage unit 331 has a function of storing device-specific information required for connecting electric wires, such as the shape of each device 120 mounted in the control panel 100, information on the number of terminals provided on each device 120 to which electric wires 130 are connected, the number of connectable electric wires assigned to each terminal, and the diameter of connectable electric wires.

[0033] The relay terminal block information storage unit 332 has a function of storing information for each of the multiple relay terminal blocks 150 that can be used in wiring design for the relay terminal blocks 150 described in FIG. 2, specifically, information specific to the relay terminal block 150 that is required for connecting electric wires, such as the number of relay terminals 152 that each relay terminal block 150 has, the number of short-circuitable terminals that can be interconnected with current-carrying conductors 154 to have the same potential, the diameter of connectable electric wires, and the number of electric wires that can be connected per relay terminal 152.

[0034] The connection information storage unit 333 has a function of storing electrical connection information between multiple terminals of the devices 120 for each of multiple electrical connections (all) required between the multiple devices 120 in the control panel 100 that have been designed in advance. The connection state analysis unit 334 performs a connection state analysis for each electrical connection based on the information stored in the device information storage unit 331 and the connection information storage unit 333 to determine whether a direct connection by the electric wire 130 is possible between the multiple terminals to be interconnected or whether the application of the relay terminal block 150 is necessary.

[0035] The relay terminal block setting unit 335 has a function of setting the relay terminal block 150 for electrical connections that cannot be directly connected, using the analysis results by the connection state analysis unit 334 for each electrical connection. This setting function includes a function of calculating the number of relay terminals 152 required based on the information of the relay terminal block 150 stored in the relay terminal block information storage unit 332, and selecting the relay terminal 152 to be used for the connection from information on the electric wire diameter, etc., thereby selecting the relay terminal 152 to be used.

[0036] The design information DB 40 corresponds to a collection of data that includes design information held by a known design device such as the control panel 100, a CAD system for designing a so-called structural design, and information required for manufacturing the control panel 100, as well as information required by the wiring setting system according to the present embodiment. The design information DB 40 corresponds to one example of the "information storage unit."

[0037] FIG. 3 shows an example of the data structure of the design information read out from the design information DB 40 to the processing device 30. In FIG.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the design information stored in the design information DB 40 includes device information, relay terminal block information, and connection information.

[0039] As device information relating to the multiple devices 120, a device ID is assigned to each of the multiple devices 120, and for each device ID, dimensional information (width, height, depth) of the device 120 and the number of terminals for electrical connection (number of connection terminals) are stored.

[0040] Furthermore, a terminal ID is assigned to each terminal of each device 120. For each terminal ID, three-dimensional position information of the device terminal, and information on the number of connectable electric wires and the diameter of the electric wires are stored.

[0041] For each terminal, the minimum required wire diameter is specified according to the current value to be passed and the voltage value to be applied. Meanwhile, the maximum diameter of the connectable wire is also specified due to the structural constraints of the device 120. Based on these, the connectable wire diameter is preset for each device terminal (each terminal ID).

[0042] Furthermore, a connection ID is assigned to each electrical connection as connection information defining the electrical connection between devices 120. For each connection ID, N pieces of connection destination information (N is an integer of 2 or more) specifying multiple connection destinations to be interconnected and signal constraint information are stored. Each piece of connection destination information is associated with the connection ID, making it possible to obtain attribute information required for connecting electric wires to terminals of the connection destinations (e.g., the number of connectable electric wires, the diameter of the electric wires, etc.).

[0043] FIG. 4 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a connection between devices.

[0044] 4, the device 120a has a terminal Ta, the device 120b has terminals Tb1 and Tb2, the device 120c has terminals Tc1 to Tc3, the device 120d has terminals Td1 to Td3, and the device 120e has terminals Te1 and Te2. Three electrical connections are defined in advance between the devices 120a to 120c, and an individual connection ID is assigned to each of the electrical connections.

[0045] For example, the electrical connection of terminals Ta, Tb1, Tc1, and Td1 is assigned a connection ID of "IDx1." For IDx1, terminals Ta, Tb1, Tc1, and Td1 are stored as connection destinations 1 to 4. For each of terminals Ta, Tb1, Tc1, and Td, an individual terminal ID is assigned and the above-mentioned information on the number of connectable electric wires and the electric wire diameter (range) is stored.

[0046] Similarly, the electrical connection between terminals Td3 and Te1 is assigned a connection ID of "IDx2." For IDx2, terminals Td3 and Te1 are stored as connection destination 1 and connection destination 2. Furthermore, the electrical connection between terminals Tb2, Tc2, Td2, and Te2 is assigned a connection ID of "IDx3," and for IDx3, terminals Tb2, Tc2, Td2, and Te2 are stored as connection destinations 1 to 4.

[0047] In FIG. 4, the connections between multiple terminals in each connection ID are shown as electric circuits, but the connection manner between the terminals on the actual wiring can be either a direct connection between the terminals by electric wire 130 or a connection between the terminals via relay terminal block 150.

[0048] Returning to Fig. 3, as the relay terminal block information, a terminal block ID is assigned to each relay terminal block 150 that is a candidate for use. The number of block terminals is stored for each terminal block ID. For example, in the relay terminal block 150 illustrated in Fig. 2, the group of relay terminals 152a to 152c and the group of relay terminals 152d and 152e can each be electrically connected to each other, so the number of block terminals is "2". Furthermore, for each block terminal, the number of short-circuitable terminals, the diameter (range) of connectable electric wires, and the number of connectable electric wires are stored.

[0049] For example, for a "base terminal" consisting of relay terminals 152a-152c in Fig. 2, the number of short-circuitable terminals is "3", and the logical sum of the conditions related to the total number of connectable terminals to relay terminals 152a-152c and the range of connectable electric wire diameters is stored. Also, for a "base terminal" consisting of relay terminals 152d and 152e in Fig. 2, the number of short-circuitable terminals is "2", and similarly, the logical sum of the total number of connectable terminals to relay terminals 152d and 152e and the range of connectable electric wire diameters is stored.

[0050] The signal constraint information is information indicating whether or not the transmission of a reset signal, a collective stop signal, or the like corresponds to an electrical connection in which serial connection of wires between devices 120 (daisy chain) is prohibited due to specifications. Due to product reliability restrictions, predetermined signals such as the above-mentioned reset signal and collective stop signal are required to be distributed in parallel from the signal-emitting terminal to the terminals of each device, that is, to be distributed by connecting the terminals in parallel. In other words, it is understood that when there is a signal constraint, the electrical connection is preferably realized using the relay terminal block 150. The signal constraint information indicates whether or not each connection ID corresponds to an electrical connection for transmitting the above-mentioned predetermined signal.

[0051] Next, an operation example of the wiring design system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5 to Fig. 8. The control processing shown in the flowcharts of Fig. 5 to Fig. 8 can be realized by software processing in which the processing device 30 (Fig. 1) executes a program stored in advance.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 5, in step (hereinafter simply referred to as “S”) 110, the processing device 30 extracts design information for the control panel 100 that is the subject of wiring design, which is specified by user input to the input device 10, from the design information DB 40.

[0053] Furthermore, in S120, the processing device 30 stores the device information, which is included in the design information extracted in S110, in the device information storage unit 331, and stores the connection information in the connection information storage unit 333. Furthermore, in S130, the processing device 30 stores information on the relay terminal block 150 that can be used in the wiring work of the control panel 100 designated as the target of wiring setting, in the relay terminal block information storage unit 332.

[0054] In step S140, the processor 30 executes a connection status analysis for each connection ID based on the information stored in the device information storage unit 331 and the connection information storage unit 333, in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0055] As shown in Fig. 6, S140 for the connection state analysis in Fig. 5 includes S141 to S147. In S141, the processing device 30 sets a connection ID to be a target of the connection state analysis. In S141, a plurality of connection IDs included in the connection information shown in Fig. 3 are selected in order as analysis targets.

[0056] In S142, the processor 30 determines whether or not the number of connection terminals according to the connection ID set in S141 is greater than 2. The number of connection terminals is indicated by the number (N) of connection destinations included in the connection ID.

[0057] When the number of connection terminals is greater than two (YES in S142), the processing device 30 performs an analysis of the number of connectable electric wires for each of the multiple connection destinations included in the connection ID in S143. Specifically, for each connection destination, the number of connectable electric wires is compared with the cumulative value of the number of electric wires (number of terminals) that are requested to be connected. Note that this cumulative value is maintained even if the connection ID setting (S110) is switched.

[0058] If the number of electric wires requested to be connected (accumulated value) for all connection destinations is equal to or less than the number of connectable electric wires, the processor 30 makes a YES determination in S143, whereas if not, the processor 30 makes a NO determination in S143.

[0059] When the determination in S143 is YES, the processing device 30 performs an analysis of the wire diameters for the multiple connection destinations included in the connection ID in S144. Specifically, if the connectable wire diameters between the multiple connections do not match, the determination in S144 is NO, and otherwise the determination in S144 is YES.

[0060] If the number of connection terminals is greater than 2 (YES in S142) and at least one of the analysis of the number of connectable electric wires (S143) or the analysis of the electric wire diameter (S144) is NO, the processing device 30 proceeds to S146, determines that the electrical connection corresponding to the connection ID set in S110 is a candidate for application of the relay terminal block 150, and sets the determination flag FLG to 1. In S146, the connection ID, the corresponding number of connection terminals (the number of connection destinations), and the electric wire diameter of each connection destination are also stored.

[0061] On the other hand, when the number of connection terminals is two or less (NO in S142), or when both the analysis of the number of connectable electric wires (S143) and the analysis of the electric wire diameter (S144) are judged as YES, the processing device 30 proceeds to the process of S145 and judges that the application of the relay terminal block 150 is unnecessary for the electrical connection corresponding to the connection ID set in S110. In this case, the judgment flag FLG is set to 0.

[0062] When the process of S145 or S146 is executed for the connection ID set in S141, it is determined in S147 whether or not the analysis in S142 to S146 is completed for all of the multiple connection IDs included in the connection information (FIG. 3). If there are any connection IDs that have not been analyzed, a NO determination is made in S147, and the process returns to S110 to switch the connection ID setting. As a result, the control process shown in FIG. 6 is executed until the analysis in S142 to S146 is completed for all connection IDs (NO determination in S147). If a YES determination is made in S147, the process proceeds to S150 in FIG. 5.

[0063] The processing device 30 performs an analysis related to signal constraints for each connection ID in S150. In S150, based on the information stored in the connection information storage unit 333, the signal constraint analysis for each connection ID is executed in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0064] As shown in Fig. 7, S150 for the signal constraint analysis in Fig. 5 includes S151 to S154. In S151, the processing device 30 sets a connection ID to be a target of the signal constraint analysis. In S151, similar to S141, a plurality of connection IDs included in the connection information shown in Fig. 3 are selected in order as the analysis target.

[0065] In S152, the processor 30 analyzes the signal restriction information of the connection ID. If there is a signal restriction, the determination in S152 is YES, and if there is no signal restriction, the determination in S152 is NO.

[0066] When the determination in S152 is YES, the processing device 30 proceeds to S153 and sets a determination flag FLG=2 to indicate that the electrical connection corresponding to the connection ID set in S151 is a candidate for application of the relay terminal block 150 involving the prohibition of daisy chaining. This updates the value of the determination flag FLG set by the connection state analysis in S140 (S145 or S146). Furthermore, the connection ID, the corresponding number of connection terminals (number of connection destinations), the wire diameter (range) of each connection destination, and the terminal ID indicating the signal distribution source are stored in association with the determination flag FLG=2.

[0067] On the other hand, if the determination in S152 is NO, that is, if there is no signal restriction for the connection ID set in S151, the process of S153 is skipped. In this case, the determination flag FLG for the connection ID set in S110 maintains the value set in the connection status analysis (S145 or S146) of S140.

[0068] The processing device 30 determines whether the analysis in S152 is completed for all of the multiple connection IDs in S154, and executes the process shown in Fig. 7 until the analysis is completed for all of the multiple connection IDs (NO in S154). On the other hand, when the analysis is completed for all of the multiple connection IDs (YES in S154), the process proceeds to S200 in Fig. 5.

[0069] In S200, the processing device 30 executes an automatic setting process for the relay terminal block 150. As shown in Fig. 8, S200 of the automatic setting process for the relay terminal block 150 in Fig. 5 includes S210 to S280. In S210, the processing device 30 sets one of the multiple connection IDs included in the connection information shown in Fig. 3 in order.

[0070] In S212, the processing device 30 determines whether the judgment flag FLG of the connection ID set in S210 is 2 or not, and if the judgment flag FLG is not 2 (NO judgment in S210), it determines in S215 whether the judgment flag FLG is 1 or not.

[0071] When FLG=2 (YES in S212), the processing device 30 determines in S220 that the relay terminal block 150 is required for electrical connection by the connection ID. Furthermore, in S220, the number of connection terminals (number of connection destinations) and the wire diameter (range) of each connection destination, etc. stored in S153 (FIG. 7) are collated with the information of each relay terminal block 150 stored in the relay terminal block information storage unit 332 to select the relay terminal block 150 to be used for the connection ID. Furthermore, taking into consideration the signal distribution source, etc., it is also possible to set which relay terminal 152 of the relay terminal block 150 is to be connected for each of the connection destinations 1 to N.

[0072] When the determination flag FLG=0 (NO determination at S215), the processor 30 determines in S250 that the relay terminal block 150 is not required for the electrical connection based on the connection ID.

[0073] When the determination flag is 1 (YES in S215), the processor 30 performs S230 to further determine whether the relay terminal block 150 is required for the connection ID determined to be a candidate for the relay terminal block 150 by the connection state analysis in S140, and obtains a flag Fx indicating the determination result. Fig. 9 shows the details of the determination of the necessity of the relay terminal block in S230.

[0074] As shown in Fig. 9, S230 for determining whether or not the relay terminal block in Fig. 8 is required includes S231 to S238. In S231, the processing device 30 sorts the N terminals that are set as the N connection destinations in the connection ID into terminals T(1) to T(N) in ascending order of the number of electric wires 130 that can be connected.

[0075] In S232, the processing device 30 initializes a loop processing variable i (i: natural number) to i = 1. In S233, the processing device 30 determines whether or not wiring is possible for directly connecting the terminals T(1) to T(i+1) with the electric wires 130 for the current setting value of the variable i, based on the number of electric wires connectable to each terminal and the diameter of the electric wires. If it is possible to set a direct connection in S233, a YES determination is made in S234, and if not, a NO determination is made in S234.

[0076] When the determination in S234 is YES, the processing device 30 increments the variable i by 1 in S235, and determines in S236 whether the variable i incremented in S235 has reached N, which is the number of terminals. If it is determined in S233 that a direct connection is not possible before the variable i is increased to N, a NO determination is made in S234, and the process proceeds to S238. In S238, since electrical connection cannot be ensured with only the electric wire 130 for that connection ID, a flag Fx=1 is set to indicate that application of the relay terminal block 150 is necessary.

[0077] On the other hand, if the YES determination is maintained in S234 until the variable i is increased to N, a YES determination is made in S236, and the process proceeds to S237. In S237, since the electrical connection can be ensured by directly connecting the electric wires 130 with the connection ID, the flag Fx is set to 0 to indicate that the application of the relay terminal block 150 is unnecessary.

[0078] When the flag Fx is set in S237 or S238, the processor 30 advances the process to S235 in FIG.

[0079] 5, when the flag Fx=0 (NO in S235), the processor 30 advances the process to S250, similarly to when the determination flag FLG=0. On the other hand, when the flag Fx=1 (YES in S235), the processor 30 advances the process to S240.

[0080] In S240, the processing device 30 determines that the relay terminal block 150 is required for the electrical connection by the connection ID. Furthermore, in S240, the information such as the number of connection terminals (number of connection destinations) and the wire diameter (range) of each connection destination stored in S146 (FIG. 6) is collated with the information of each relay terminal block 150 stored in the relay terminal block information storage unit 332 to select the relay terminal block 150 to be used for the connection ID. Furthermore, based on the analysis in S230, it is also possible to set which relay terminal 152 of the relay terminal block 150 is to be connected for each of the connection destinations 1 to N.

[0081] When the necessity / non-essence of the relay terminal block is determined in any one of S220, S240, and S250, the processor 30 determines in S260 whether the automatic setting process in S212 to S250 has been completed for all of the multiple connection IDs. Until the analysis of all of the multiple connection IDs is completed (NO in S260), the selection of the connection ID in S210 is continued, and the automatic setting process in S212 to S250 is repeatedly executed.

[0082] When the processing device 30 completes the analysis of all of the multiple connection IDs (YES in S157), it creates a list of the relay terminal blocks 150 selected in S220 and S250 in S270, and calculates the number of selected relay terminal blocks 150 in S280. This ends S200 in Fig. 5. As a result, the introduction of relay terminal blocks 150 required to realize the multiple electrical connections indicated by the multiple connection IDs included in the connection information is automatically set. The results obtained in the processing of S200 can be output by the output device 20.

[0083] In this way, according to the wiring design system of embodiment 1, in the wiring design for ensuring electrical connection between the terminals of a plurality of predefined devices 120, it is possible to automate the introduction design of the relay terminal block, thereby reducing the design burden on the development workers.

[0084] 4 may include a dummy connection that connects terminals that do not need to be connected in the current design stage. For example, by adding a connection ID of a dummy connection that includes a specific device and terminal that are likely to have an increased number of device connections due to a later design change, etc., it is possible to provide a spare relay terminal block 150 that can be used in response to the design change.

[0085] Embodiment 2 In recent years, as the functions of control panels have become more diverse, there has been an increasing demand for smaller size, lighter weight, and lower cost. For this reason, the volume ratio of the device 120 inside the housing 110 of the control panel 100 has increased, and there is a demand for a reduction in the wiring path of the electric wire 130 (harness) and further for the electric wire 130 (harness) to be shorter and smaller. In the second embodiment, an explanation will be given of the addition of a wiring pattern selection function for minimizing the electric wire length in response to such demands.

[0086] 10, the wiring design system 1b according to the second embodiment differs from the wiring design system 1a according to the first embodiment in that the design information processing unit 33 of the processing device 30 further includes a structure information storage unit 336 in addition to the device information storage unit 331, relay terminal block information storage unit 332, connection information storage unit 333, connection state analysis unit 334, and relay terminal block setting unit 335 shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, information read from the design information DB 40 to the processing device 30 is added.

[0087] FIG. 11 shows an example of a data structure of the design information read out by the processing device 30 from the design information DB 40 of FIG.

[0088] 11, in the second embodiment, in addition to the device information, connection information, and relay terminal block information similar to those in the first embodiment (FIG. 4), structural information for determining the available wiring space is read from the design information DB 40 to the processing device 30. The structural information includes panel case outline information, structure information, duct information, and rail / mounting hole information.

[0089] The panel housing outer shape information stores reference position coordinates (x, y, z) and thickness, height, and depth information for identifying the presence area of ​​each wall surface of the housing 110 in three-dimensional space. The structure information stores an ID for each of the structures 140 such as the pillars, partitions, and shelves shown in Fig. 2, and stores reference position coordinates (x, y, z) and orientation, length, width, and thickness information for identifying the presence area of ​​the structure 140 for each ID.

[0090] The duct information stores the duct's reference position coordinates (x, y, z), direction, width, height, length, and cable storage area within the duct in order to specify a spatial area that can be preferentially used for wiring. If multiple ducts are installed, an ID can be assigned to each duct, and the above information can be stored in association with each ID.

[0091] As rail / mounting hole information, it is necessary to store a subordinate structure ID to identify the equipment 120 or structure 140 in which the rail or mounting hole is provided. Furthermore, as information for identifying the area in which the rail and mounting hole exist, the reference point coordinates (x, y, z) and information such as the direction, length, thickness, and hole diameter are appropriately stored. In practice, each rail and mounting hole is assigned an individual ID, and the above information is stored for each ID.

[0092] The structural information storage unit 336 shown in FIG. 10 has a function of storing the above-mentioned structural information (e.g., panel casing outline information, structure information, duct information, and rail / mounting hole information) added in embodiment 2 from among the information read out from the design information DB 40.

[0093] FIG. 12 shows a flowchart illustrating a control process by the wiring design system according to the second embodiment.

[0094] As shown in FIG. 12, in the second embodiment, the processing device 30 extracts design information ( FIG. 11 ) of the control panel 100 that is the subject of wiring design from the design information DB 40 in S110 similar to that in FIG. 5, and then in S115 stores the structural information described in FIG. 11 from the design information extracted in S110 in the structural information storage unit 336.

[0095] In addition, the processing device 30 stores the device information, from the design information extracted in S110, in the device information storage unit 331, stores the connection information in the connection information storage unit 333, and stores information on usable relay terminal blocks 150 in the relay terminal block information storage unit 332, by steps S120 and S130 similar to those in FIG. 5.

[0096] Furthermore, the processing device 30 performs a connection state analysis and a signal constraint analysis for each connection ID in the same manner as in the first embodiment, through S140 and S150 similar to those in FIG. 5, and then performs processing of S200# in which a wiring pattern selection function is added to S200 in FIG. 5.

[0097] Fig. 13 shows a flowchart for explaining a control process added to S200 in the first embodiment at S200# in Fig. 12. The control process shown in Fig. 13 is executed between S250 and S260 in Fig. 8, which shows a subdivision of the process of S200 in Fig. 5.

[0098] As described in FIG. 8, if a NO determination is made in S215 or S235 for the connection ID set in S210, the process proceeds to S250, where it is determined that the relay terminal block 150 is not required for the electrical connection using that connection ID.

[0099] In this case, following S250, the processing device 30 executes S255 for selecting a wiring pattern. S255 includes S256 to S258. In S256, for each pair of connection destinations among the plurality of connection destinations (connection destination 1 to connection destination N) included in the connection ID, a predicted calculation of the wiring distance between the pair of connection destinations is executed.

[0100] In S252, a predicted calculation of the wiring distance is performed taking into consideration not only the positional information of the device terminals corresponding to the two connection destinations, but also the positional relationship with the area in which the electric wire 130 can be routed (wiring space), which is determined taking into consideration the panel case outline information, structure information, duct information, and rail / mounting hole information stored in the structure information storage unit 336.

[0101] In S257, the processor 30 judges whether the number of connection destinations is greater than two, and if the number of connection destinations is greater than two (YES in S257), the processor 30 selects a wiring pattern in S258 based on the predicted value of the wiring distance obtained in S256. On the other hand, if the number of connection destinations is two (NO in S257), there is only one wiring pattern, so the process of S258 is skipped.

[0102] FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the selection of wiring patterns in S258.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 14, in the electrical connection (connection ID) including terminals T1 to T3 at the connection destination, according to the combination of two terminals each, the predicted wiring distance D12 between terminals T1 and T2, the predicted wiring distance D13 between terminals T1 and T3, and the predicted wiring distance D23 between terminals T2 and T3 are calculated in S252.

[0104] In order to electrically connect terminals T1 to T3 without using the relay terminal block 150, it is necessary to connect two of the terminals T1 to T3 with two electric wires 130a and 130b. In the example of FIG. 14, it is assumed that D12 < D13 < D23. Note that in FIG. 14, for ease of explanation, the straight-line distance between the terminals is indicated as equivalent to the wiring distance. However, actually, regarding the fact that the wiring distance does not become a simple straight-line distance due to restrictions by the shapes of the device 120 and the structure 140, etc., and the positional relationship with the wiring available space defined by the duct arrangement, etc., it is described for confirmation.

[0105] FIG. 14(a) shows a wiring pattern in which between terminals T1 and T3 and between terminals T2 and T3 are connected by electric wires 130a and 130b, and FIG. 14(b) shows a wiring pattern in which between terminals T1 and T3 and between terminals T1 and T2 are connected by electric wires 130a and 130c.

[0106] In the example of FIG. 14, since D12 + D13 is the smallest among D12 + D13, D13 + D23, and D12 + D23, in S256, the wiring pattern of FIG. 14(b) will be selected.

[0107] Thereafter, the process proceeds to S260 in FIG. 8. As a result, in S200# in FIG. 11, for each of the plurality of connection IDs, the control processes shown in FIGS. 8 and 13 are executed. The result obtained by the process of S200# can be output by the output device 20.

[0108] Therefore, according to the wiring design system of the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the introduction design of the relay terminal block can be automated, and for electrical connections (connection IDs) to which the relay terminal block is not applied, a wiring pattern that minimizes the distance of the electric wires 130 can be automatically selected. This can further reduce the design burden on the development workers.

[0109] In this embodiment, in a connection ID in which relay terminal block 150 is introduced, all of the connection destinations (N pieces) may be connected via relay terminal block 150, but it is also possible to design the connection mode so that some of the connection destinations are directly connected by electric wires 130 and the remaining connection destinations are connected via relay terminal block 150.

[0110] Further, in the first and second embodiments, examples of wiring design in the control panel 100 have been described, but the wiring design pattern and wiring design method according to the present disclosure can be applied not only to the control panel 100 but also to the wiring design of any device having multiple electrically connected devices.

[0111] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The technical scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0112] 1a, 1b wiring design system, 10 input device, 20 output device, 30 processing device, 31 calculation processing unit, 32 storage unit, 33 design information processing unit, 40 design information DB, 100 control panel, 110 housing, 120, 120a to 120e equipment, 130, 130a, 130b electric wire, 140 structure, 150 relay terminal block, 152, 152a to 152e relay terminal, 154, 154a, 154b current-carrying conductor, 331 equipment information storage unit, 332 relay terminal block information storage unit, 333 connection information storage unit, 334 connection state analysis unit, 335 relay terminal block setting unit, 336 structure information storage unit, D12, D13, D23 wiring distance predicted value, FLG judgment flag, Fx Flag (result of determination as to whether or not intermediate terminal block is required), T1 to T3, Ta, Tb1, Tb2, Tc1 to Tc3, Td1 to Td3, Te1, Te2, Tw, Tx, Ty, Tz terminals.

Claims

1. A wiring design system for a plurality of devices housed in a housing, comprising: an information storage unit in which design information indicating the contents of a plurality of electrical connections designed in advance between the plurality of devices is stored; a design information processing unit that uses the design information to design a connection mode between a plurality of terminals of the plurality of devices, The design information is connection information including information for identifying a plurality of terminals to be connected to each other for each of the electrical connections; Terminal information for each of the plurality of terminals; Terminal block information relating to a plurality of relay terminal blocks having a plurality of relay terminals mounted thereon; The design information processing unit includes: a connection state analysis unit that analyzes whether or not the application of the relay terminal block is necessary for each of the electrical connections based on the connection information and the terminal information; a relay terminal block setting unit that sets the relay terminal blocks to be introduced into the plurality of electrical connections based on the analysis results by the connection state analysis unit and the terminal block information.

2. 2. The wiring design system according to claim 1, wherein the relay terminal block setting unit selects, for an electrical connection analyzed to require the application of the relay terminal block, an relay terminal block to be applied to the electrical connection from the plurality of relay terminal blocks based on the connection information and terminal information of the electrical connection and the terminal block information.

3. the connection information includes signal constraint information indicating, for each of the electrical connections, whether or not the electrical connection is a connection for transmitting a predetermined signal; The design information processing unit includes:

3. The wiring design system according to claim 1, further comprising a signal constraint analysis unit for analyzing whether application of the relay terminal block is necessary for the electrical connection for transmitting the predetermined signal based on the signal constraint information.

4. The design information is The electronic device further includes structural information for determining an available space for arranging electric wires in the housing, The wiring design system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the relay terminal block setting unit further selects, for the electrical connection analyzed as not requiring the application of the relay terminal block, a wiring pattern with the shortest wiring length from among a plurality of wiring patterns for interconnecting the plurality of connection destination terminals of the electrical connection, based on the terminal information and the structural information relating to the plurality of connection destination terminals of the electrical connection.

5. The wiring design system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of electrical connections included in the connection information include dummy connections for electrically connecting terminals that do not require connection in the current design content.

6. A method for designing wiring between a plurality of devices housed in a housing, comprising the steps of: A step of extracting design information indicating contents of a plurality of pre-designed electrical connections between the plurality of devices from a database by a processor; and a step of designing a connection mode between a plurality of terminals of the plurality of devices by using the design information, The design information is connection information including information for identifying a plurality of terminals to be connected to each other for each of the electrical connections; Terminal information for each of the plurality of terminals; Terminal block information relating to a plurality of relay terminal blocks having a plurality of relay terminals mounted thereon; The designing step includes: The processor analyzes whether or not the application of the relay terminal block is necessary for each of the electrical connections based on the connection information and the terminal information; The wiring design method includes a step in which the processor sets the relay terminal blocks to be introduced into the plurality of electrical connections based on the analysis results in the analyzing step and the terminal block information.

7. The designing step includes:

7. The wiring design method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of: selecting, by the processor, for the electrical connection analyzed as requiring the application of the relay terminal block, from the plurality of relay terminal blocks, a relay terminal block to be applied to the electrical connection based on the connection information and the terminal information of the electrical connection and the terminal block information.

8. the connection information includes signal constraint information indicating whether the electrical connection is a connection for transmitting a predetermined signal; The designing step includes:

8. The wiring design method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of: analyzing, by the processor, whether application of the relay terminal block is necessary for the electrical connection for transmitting the predetermined signal based on the signal constraint information.

9. The design information is The electronic device further includes structural information for determining an available space for arranging electric wires in the housing, The designing step includes: The wiring design method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising a step in which the processor selects, for the electrical connection analyzed as not requiring the application of the relay terminal block, a wiring pattern with a minimum wiring length from among a plurality of wiring patterns for interconnecting the plurality of connection destination terminals of the electrical connection, based on the terminal information and the structural information relating to the plurality of connection destination terminals of the electrical connection.

10. The wiring design method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the plurality of electrical connections included in the connection information include a dummy connection for electrically connecting terminals that do not need to be connected in a current design.

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